Winter Term

Winter Term is an intense, three-week, one-topic course of study held each January. The goal of Winter Term is to put into practice the concept of “depth over breadth,” something that supports the school’s mission of providing the most meaningful educational experiences Brooks students will have. The single-course structure of Winter Term allows students and faculty to work together even more closely than they do in regular classes.

How does it work?

Each year, the Brooks faculty produces a master list of course proposals for Winter Term. The course concepts are the result of faculty brainstorming that’s focused on three different kinds of classes: experiential, topical and approach-based. Teachers were asked to dream big — in other words, “Think of your dream teaching moment; given boundless time and resources, what would you really like to teach?” And then, “How can we adjust that to fit the Winter Term model?”

In the fall, students sign up for a class that interests them. Each class has its own requirements, daily expectations and meeting times, however most of the Winter Term courses place an emphasis on collaborative teaching.

To create time in the school calendar for Winter Term, final exams for first-semester courses were moved to before the holiday break in December. Second semester won’t start until February — leaving January open for a month’s worth of Winter Term courses.